In our contemporary research on interracial families, schools, neighborhoods, houses of worship, and groups, we have found a tendency, when these organizations or groups first form, for the people in charge, whether blatantly or subtly, to encourage and practice some form of assimilation, no matter the rhetoric (see e.g., Christerson, Emerson, & Edwards 2005, Emerson 2006: ch. 6). But we have also found that such groups do not last or work effectively if that tendency continues. So to survive and thrive, at least in the interracial settings we have studied, these groups must implement some
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